User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 105 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 85 out of 105
  2. Negative: 15 out of 105

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  1. KhristianR.
    Oct 1, 2008
    8
    If your a huge Civilization fan, some of you might be slightly put off by the new design, interface and the speed it runs. Also some of the main options such as the Place have been discarded, but I think for the Xbox 360 console and the next generation of gamers, especially some who might not have played a strategy game before, its implemented really well. Also the addition of your advisors talking in the "Sims-esque gibberish" takes the edge off it being to serious a game. I do think you should have been able to zoom right in to the cities though. In all some options have been dropped and some new ones put in place, but it balances out nicely in the end, making a very good strategy game. SCORE : 84%. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. VS.
    Jul 6, 2008
    10
    Deep, entertaining, re-playable and just plain addictive; I’ve never played a game quite like on a console. This is a must buy for fans of the genre.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. JamesO.
    Jun 26, 2008
    9
    I am throughly addicted to this game, its really rather well done and an excellent entry into the strategy genre. Brilliant.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. DavidF.
    Jun 5, 2008
    10
    After playing the demo of this game, I can say with some certainty that this is the best console strategy game in a long time if not ever! Barring any technical guffaws that I did not find in the demo this game is Fantabulously Sploderific!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. MarkG.
    Jul 10, 2008
    10
    Great game. Played Civ 2, 3, and 4 and Revolution definitely carries the Civilization name with honor.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. EricN.
    Jul 14, 2008
    3
    Good single-player, but CANNOT save multi-player games! Who have time to play six hours in one sitting?
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. get4ked
    Jul 17, 2008
    4
    I am very disappointed with this game I would rather play Civ 4 for another year than play this game any more. P.S. there better be a kicka** expansion pack.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. TylerD.
    Jul 10, 2008
    10
    Brilliant, very accurate to the way things work in the world, like if you aquire the World Bank you win, haha. Replay value is very high, many different scenarios and 4 difficulties you can beat it on. This for me is a must own!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. AlanS.
    Jul 2, 2008
    10
    Its not PC Civilisation. It was never meant to be. If you view this as a console strategy game, its a work of art. This is in my top 3 games on the 360, and the games of the week, scenarios, different difficulty levels, etc will all keep me playing for months. Try the demo, it had me hooked, and the actual game is far far better!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. GatorB.
    Jul 28, 2008
    9
    As a hard-core Civ 4 player, I was very skeptical of a console version. Amazingly, Sid Meier’s team comes through in spades! No, it doesn’t have the micro-management and options of the PC version, but as many people have noted, this isn’t a PC port. It accomplishes the key points, which is to bring the “fun” of a Civ game to a new audience without dumbing down the strategy. The controller scheme also works very well (after the RTS debacles of C&C 3 and LOTR 2, I didn’t have high expectations). I look forward to a multi-player match, but I’m having problems setting enough time aside (could take 3-5 hours). I am very glad that I own both versions of this excellent game. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. BurtonS.
    Jul 3, 2008
    9
    This game was great and has enough depth to keep me playing long past my bedtime. I have only played the demo, as I assume all of the other people who rated this game so a true score cannot be given at this time, but since everyone else is giving their full judgement I figured I would too.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  12. MP.
    Jul 3, 2008
    9
    Best strategy title on consoles and unlike the PC version I have time to play a full game.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  13. CarlZ.
    Jul 9, 2008
    9
    This game is just awesome and has been brilliantly built for the consoles. Easy to control but with all of the standard things from previous Civilization games that were so loved.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  14. JasonF.
    Aug 17, 2008
    4
    I didn't think it was possible to mess the online multiplayer for 360 up so bad. This was the only reason I bought it and thet really made it bad. From long waits to spazzes to freezing it overall really sucks.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  15. OliverW.
    Oct 7, 2008
    8
    At its core, civ rev is a fun game, yet its lack a depth ultimately holds it back from its true potential. Fans of strategy games will enjoy this iterration of Sid Meier, yet its clear its target audience is the casual crowd.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  16. mobius
    Jun 11, 2008
    10
    I’m a PC gamer with a good 360 collection, and I have Civilization 4(CIV4)for the PC, what’s the difference your probably wondering, Well Civilization Revolutions(CIVR) is far more user friendly than the PC version because this isn’t a port of the PC CIV4 this is a new built from the ground up Civ for the 360, though it looks the same at first glance its lost the more in depth city management of the PC CIV and streamlined it for the Control pad, I’m not saying that there isn’t any city management its that there is less of it. CIVR has been made to cater for the Intelligent XBOX player, the type of player who likes Strategy games but doesn’t want to be bogged down by all the fiddly management stuff and a manual the size of the Bible. One thing it does have from the PC version though is the drop in multiplayer. Now this works and sometimes don’t, for example you can join a game in mid play, only to find that you have inherited a failing Civilization that is on the losing side. But then again you could also find yourself with a decent Civilization with a good amount of territory. Either way games always turn out entertaining; the good thing is that though you still play the multiplayer like a turn based game you don’t need to wait for other players to finish their moves. Civilization has always received great reviews on all previous formats and its nice to see a return to the console, as it was the original Playstaion1 version that got me into the Civilization in the first place. Don’t buy this game thinking its Command & Conquer only to come back to give it a 1 star rating, purchase this game once you have looked at the demo and you’re sure this is the game for you. Think of Civilization Revolutions as the Arcade equivalent of the PC Civilization 4. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  17. TroyH.
    Jun 21, 2008
    8
    Great game - would be better if there was a save gave option for privately setup multiplayer games.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  18. MikeW
    Jul 11, 2008
    10
    Fantastic game, very fun and worthy of being part of the Civ history.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  19. BigcivFan
    Jul 12, 2008
    10
    This is a great Civ arcade experience - the more I play it, the more I really like getting an entire civ experience (20-40 hours on PC?) in a handful of hours. The game of the week feature and online leaderboards are cool, and the trophy room and gifts given from far off lands round out the overall presentation nicely. The military portions work quite well - I wouldn't mind seeing the ideas for upgrades and easy army formation make their way into a regular version of Civ. At first, I was bothered by the smallish size of the gameworld you play on, but I suppose that's necessary for maintaining a reasonable playtime. I'll still be buying all things Civ on the PC, but this is a really great experience, and (along with the DS version) gives me other outlets for my addiction. :) Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  20. GabeA.
    Jul 1, 2008
    9
    This is a solid game ive had tons of time with the game the only thing is that whenu attack a city the enemies automatically get all their units back and r stronger thats pretty much all thats wrong the only other things are the graphics r very kiddy an the simeloneon crap still a solid game very fun an the only one of its kind that ive played.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  21. CarlosS.
    Jul 16, 2008
    4
    Good single player, but wayy too short. I would love the option to keep playing after victory conditions are met.Not cool to have ur glorious empire abruptlly end.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  22. CrunkP.
    Jul 29, 2008
    8
    Overall I'm a fan of the Civilization series and I'm pretty happy with Civ Rev. While I'm impressed with the way they've managed to streamline controls for a console, there are still some minor things that bother me. The problem being, that when you play a game constantly, over and over, the minor things start to be major annoyances - like the music turning loud suddenly, leaders constantly asking you the same thing you've rejected for the last 100-200 turns (can there be a "yes," "no," and "never?") Why doesn't the magnifying glass give me any info about the terrain it's over? And I feel some concepts aren't explained well, for example, the first civ to research literacy gets a "+1 bonus to science production in all cities." Is that a one turn bonus? Is it ongoing? Do I get it even in cities that are producing gold? Nowhere does it fully explain what that means... But, again, I am a fan of the game, I'm just hoping they clean it up with a patch, or else I'm already waiting for Civ Rev 2 where the gameplay will be less buggy, hopefully. The game of the week is great too. I usually play it repeatedly throughout the week just because it's fun to see what you can do on a map that you're familiar with. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  23. MattP.
    Aug 1, 2008
    7
    I don't get the fact that it is soooooo short. Just as you're getting into it and your civilization is flourishing the game ends. Each turn is 50 years for gods sake!!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  24. JasonL.
    Aug 16, 2008
    10
    Great game, easy to pick up and play. There is one annoying bug, that freezes the game up when you try to take a city using catapults. But, other than that, it's a great game.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  25. [Anonymous]
    Aug 5, 2008
    5
    I ended up downloading the demo for the Xbox 360 and ended up turning it off after about 30 minutes. While I've played Civilization II through IV on the PC, the game felt too different, harder to control (when you're used to the NumPad, it's hard to switch to the thumbstick) and the city building was confusing. The technology tree was so much different than its PC components that I was a bit frustrated that when I got a technology that I thought would give me a unit/building I wanted and it wasn't there. I remember being aghast at the fact that you had to research a technology to build a barracks. The advisers were a bit annoying and "childish" (for lack of a better word). While I'm sure they reduced the amount of time it takes to complete a game, Civilization IV did that as well. I can easily play a full space race game in about 5 or 6 hours. If you like the PC versions, I would caution against buying the console version until after you've tried the demo out first. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  26. Kyle
    Feb 14, 2009
    7
    This is a good game, if you leave aside all previous civilization games, but otherwise, civilization did not live up to sandards. The top 5 mistake i found were: 5. Cpu agressiveness - If you aren't recieving a death threat every two turns in this game, you either have a ridiculuosly vast army or you're the guy with the nuke. Its impossible to stay out of war, because even when you give your hard earned technology, great people, or gold, in 4 turns they demand more. Gets very aggravatiing. 4. No "workers" - You're probably familiar with the worker concept - find the resource, build a road to it, and construct the appropriate contraption for extracting the resource. In CivRev, there are no workers, and resources just float themselves to you i suppose, once you discover them. Which means in PC versions, if you liked being "the guy with all the oil" In CivRev, there is no such title. 3. One way highway on death threats - Not only do they come at you every 2 turns demading everything, but if you're the guy who should be throwing the threats, too bad. From playing the game, i have not been able to find how to threaten other people out of their goods. The closest I've come is kicking some nads so hard they'll pay me 25 gold to stop. When the ball's in your court, this really takes a powerful arsenal out of your repitoire. 2. Diplomacy - Someone enlighten me. How could they have messed up the diplomacy this bad? You start a diplomacy, an your only options are - tech for money, or money for tech - I dont think i need to go into how elaboorate trading was in PC civ games. 1. Game Customization - This is by far the only mistake i have have not been able to overcome. You pick a scenario, or single player, pick a civilization, and you've begun. There's no option on how long you want to game to be, world climate, water level, land layout, barbarian aggressiveness, its ideally the same game every time. You do the math. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  27. MarionS.
    Jun 27, 2008
    3
    Though an inspiring effort to bring this series to console precludes a zerio rating, this game either fails or eeks by in offering those elements of strategy and tactical control that are, unfortunately, also missing from pretty much all the other "strategy" offerings on console.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  28. NathanG.
    Jul 11, 2008
    9
    Addicting game that is good fun in all aspects. No point in comparing this game to it's PC counter part, as it in no way attempt to emulate the PC versions strong points - it instead creates it's own. Fun gameplay, terribly addictive, and exceptionally entertaining are a few of the reasons I can't put this title down. It may lack the depth of its PC brother, but it is a detail that would have gotten lost in the translation. If you like strategy games, this just might be one of the best to hit a console ever - do yourself a favor and pick it up. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  29. RobertB.
    Jul 17, 2008
    7
    While I can see Civ:Rev as a good introduction for people who don't want the complexity or depth of the PC versions of Civ, I found this version to be far too simplistic for my taste. In addition, the play becomes seriously repetative after the first few playthroughs.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  30. JuliusS.
    Jul 17, 2008
    3
    The single player is fine. But if you are looking to play with a friend online, forget it. There is NO option to save at ANY time during a multiplayer game. This means you and your friend(s) will have to play the game through to completion, period. This is ridiculous. I can't believe the game is getting such good reviews and they do not mention this HUGE problem with the game. The only thing I can think of is that the multiplayer was disabled when mags reviewed it, so they didn't know. Single player is great, but if you are looking to play with a group, you'll be disappointed. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  31. TrevorG.
    Aug 11, 2008
    10
    "Eric N. gave it a3: Good single-player, but CANNOT save multi-player games! Who have time to play six hours in one sitting?" Lol....how are you going to save a multi-player game? Do you expect real people to put down their controllers and be ready to play when you load them back up? LMAO!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  32. Oct 8, 2010
    9
    This is the best Xbox360 game I own. I've owned it for over a year and I still play it sometimes. I'm not a fan of other Civilization games, but this is a little easier and was simple to learn. The balance and dynamics of the game and strategies is a lot of fun.
  33. Oct 29, 2010
    7
    I'm going to keep this simple. If you're looking for a world domination game on a console, then look no farther than Civ Rev. It does what it set out to to do: Bring a fun Civ iteration to the console. But if at all possible, just go with a PC version. This is a port and you can tell. If feels a bit dumbed down and shallow. The developers should be credited that they pulled off what they did, and at this juncture the game is commendable. To ask any more of them would be selfish, but to say this game is great is over selling it. Expand
  34. May 23, 2012
    10
    Definitely the best TBS game for the Xbox 360. I wish they would make more games like this for the 360. The game has a large number of civilizations to play as, and it's only downfalls are the normal ones for all TBS games.
  35. Nov 26, 2011
    9
    Enjoyable, if a bit slow at times, especially for some civs you might want to play. Replay value is high, considering all the civs. Nice addition of lost artifacts to find, (especially the tech boosting Atlantis). Only real complaint would be the constant "help" messages that pop up from your advisers, even after you tell it/them to shut up. Annoying after a while, but not game breaking. Good game all around though. Expand
  36. Oct 19, 2011
    10
    Fantastic game. A lot quicker then other Civ. games. It is far less complex, but still enjoyable. Whereas Civ V games take upwards of 10 hours, this takes a mere 2. Fantastic game, recommended for everyone.
  37. Jun 17, 2011
    10
    Though it may have been awhile since I picked up the box it remains a firm favourite in my eyes due to the 'Pick up and Play' ability of this game. As you explore more features it becomes more enjoyable. The variety of playable-characters means many a tactic can be used from each leader's special ablilities. In a sense the graphics are good due to the fact they are easily recognisable yet when I look back on them they seem a little childish. It runs well on the Xbox and with the achievements the things to do are unlimited until all achievments are unlocked. I, myself are missing achievments and as I write this I am thinking of whether to return to an old favourite. Expand
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 55 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 55
  2. Negative: 0 out of 55
  1. This slick new Civilization may be more reduction than Revolution, but it's easily one of the most distinctive games on 360 and PS3. I can't see myself playing much more of the single-player, but I genuinely cannot wait to war over landmass with a few like-minded chums.
  2. While far from as deep as the PC games, Revolution is a fine achievement, extremely accessible and great fun to play.
  3. Old diehard fanatics will no doubt shake their fists at the slight console-friendly tweaks of the original formula and the light-hearted nature of the graphics – but hey, it's successfully infecting a whole new generation of gamers with Civ love, so get over it.